A proposed Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado

National Park Service. 1962. A proposed Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado. National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Omaha, Nebraska

This report contains details about the significance, suitability, feasibility, and proposed development for establishing Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, CO. It includes a review of the area history and geology. The Florissant Lake Beds, a famous location of well-preserved insect and leaf fossils, and petrified tree stumps is located 35 miles west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the vicinity of the small community of Florissant. It is a classic paleontological locality known to geologists, botanists, and entomologists, worldwide; mentioned in many textbooks of geology; and described in numerous scientific publications. Fossils taken from here may be found in the paleontological collections of many prominent museums and colleges throughout the Nation. Careful studies were made of this site by the Midwest Region, National Park Service in 1959-61, as a part of long-range efforts to identify further areas of sufficient importance for inclusion in the Nationa Park System. The eventual objective of these efforts is a well-rounded system of National Parks, Monuments, Historic Sites and related areas that will be truly representative of America’s natural and cultural heritage. This report is the result of those studies.

Type
Published Report
Authors
National Park Service
Date of Issue
1962-04
Publisher
National Park Service, Department of the Interior
Units
FLFO , HIST
Keywords
Bibliography, Cultural Resources, ehistory, Florissant Fossil Beds, Fossils, Geology, History, Management, Map, Natural History, Paleontology, Park Establishment

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